Linas Kleiza: Where did this come from? The forward had his best game of the playoffs - in the first half. Mired in a shooting slump and glued to the bench, Kleiza took advantage of his increased playing time - 22 minutes - to score 16 points and grab eight rebounds.

Billups' smarts: Chauncey Billups inbounded the ball off Kobe Bryant's back and scored with three seconds left in the first half to bring the Nuggets within one.

Chris Dempsey, The Denver Post

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Worsts Too many quick fouls

Dahntay Jones' start: The athletic guard missed three layups and picked up four fouls early in the first quarter.

Nuggets blocking out early: Denver allowed four offensive rebounds and eight second-chance points in the first quarter.

Fourth-quarter miscues: Two for Carmelo Anthony; plus a wild shot for J.R. Smith.

Reunion: During a timeout, "Top Gun" pilots Tom Cruise and Val Kilmer were shown split-screen to the movie's theme song "Danger Zone."

Chris Dempsey, The Denver Post